Mindy Montford Announces Major Endorsements in 299th District Court Runoff

GNI (0.00 / 0)

I heart GNI Strategies! Mindy's in good hands.

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by: katiebellmoore @ Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 14:48:18 PM UTC

how much from the lobby? (0.00 / 0)

It would be interesting to see how much of that $25,000 came from members of the Lobby at the Capitol.  A number of them were quite generous to her campaign for District Attorney two years ago.  They may have waited until the run-off this time since there are fewer contribution reports which makes it harder to make their support the issue it deserves to be.

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by: WUSRPH @ Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 01:47:12 AM UTC

John Bradley (0.00 / 0)

Another generous person to Montford when she ran for DA in 2008 was far right Republican Williamson County DA John Bradley, who gave $1,000 to her campaign for DA.

In 2009 Bradley was picked to be Rick Perry's puppet as chair of the Texas Forensic Science Commission when Perry wanted to impede the commission's effort looking into the quality of the forensic science used to convict Todd Willingham.

If you are trying to figure out which is the candidate progressives should support in any campaign, one way is to consider what would John Bradley do, then do the opposite.

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by: Scott Cobb @ Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 03:40:10 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Still Sages' race (0.00 / 0)

I think these big names help her race, but Sage is probably still the smart money favorite. I think a lot of progressives view Montford as a crypto-Republican and that will hurt her in the hard core small turnout run-off.

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by: TexianPolitico @ Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 12:56:47 PM UTC

Really? (0.00 / 0)

I rarely comment on these things, but the comment above drew my attention.  As Seth Myers would say on Weekend Update, "Really??".  Mindy Montford has been a Democrat since the day she was born.  She's been voting Democratic since she turned 18.  Besides blockwalking and campaigning for Democrats as a little kid, one of her first gigs was working for Governor Ann Richards.  There's a picture hanging in Mindy's law office with her and the Governor and Ann wrote something like, "You will be a tremendous public servant one day."  She literally grew up at the knees of our Democratic heroes.

Mindy has literally spent her entire life immersed in Democratic campaigns and causes, I don't know where these allegations come from.

Mindy's lived in Austin nearly her entire life.  She's been active in the causes and politics of this town.  Throw a rock and you'll hit someone that knows Mindy Montford and supports her.

Folks have a choice to make in this run off campaign.  They can talk about qualifications, experience and visions of Justice or they can make accusations and play dirty.  It'd be nice to see folks focus on what really matters.

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by: Rick Cofer @ Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 16:56:29 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I look forward to a substantive conversation, as well. (0.00 / 0)

I don't know where these allegations come from, either, but my guess would be that there is sentiment left over from Montford's 2008 race, when many of the people that supported her opponent attacked her on this very website. Some of those very people are now working for her.

As to a substantive conversation about qualifications, experience, and visions of Justice, I'd like to remind any BOR readers that Karen Sage has laid out precisely why she is running for judge, her experience, her qualifications, and her vision for justice in Travis County.

http://www.burntorangereport.c...

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by: Jim Wick @ Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 17:55:25 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

All Dem all the time (0.00 / 0)

I've known Mindy for 25 years. She has always been a progressive. She has always been a Democrat.  

The reason she got lobbyist money in her DA race is that her father was helping to raise money for her and he had a lot of contacts at the capital. He is not playing an active role in this race, so I doubt we are going to see a lot of lobster money.

Your posts are what is wrong with out-of-context blog postings. Mindy has been know to talk to--and work with--all people regardless of party. We sure seem enthusiastic when Bill White attracts support from across the aisle--we think it is good for the party and good for the candidate.  So why is it that we engage in Beck-like litmus tests based on a race like this?  It is intellectually lazy.

The issue here is: Who has the best legal acumen and will be the fairest jurist?  The bar association said overwhelmingly that Mindy Montford would be.

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by: McKinney @ Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 14:38:05 PM UTC

Bottom Line: Montford will make the better judge (0.00 / 0)

There is one candidate in this race who has voted in every Democratic Primary in Travis County for over twenty years, and volunteered and contributed to dozens of Texas Democratic candidates: its Mindy Montford. It is disappointing to see the desperate, negative campaign to label her a "crypto-Republican." It is as desperate as it is untrue.

Why don't we have a debate over who is more qualified to be judge? Well, since Montford received 60 percent in the bar poll (vs Sage's painfully low 28 percent) and has tried almost 10x as many jury trials as Sage, that debate is pretty much over .... guess it isnt too surprising to see the desperation in the other side's negative attacks.  

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by: Carlos82 @ Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 17:22:33 PM UTC

Heh (0.00 / 0)

Carlos82, your comment history is available for all to see. You created your user account to attack Karen Sage.

We're quite tired over here at 806 West 10th Street listening to the threats, bullying, intimidation, and insinuations that Karen Sage is attacking Mindy Montford either overtly or covertly.

Karen Sage has been running a 100% positive campaign for judge since June, 2009. The Karen Sage Campaign has made a pledge to the Democratic Party Chair to not go negative first in this campaign. Has the Mindy Montford Campaign made that pledge to the Democratic Party Chair?

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by: Jim Wick @ Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 17:45:13 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Don't let me interrupt your Dem-on-Dem accusations. I'm just going (0.00 / 0)

to get some more popcorn, and I'll be right back for the rest of the show.

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by: Token Republican @ Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 20:33:01 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

60% of 24% (0.00 / 0)

I just want to point out that only 946 people (of the 3900 eligible) cast ballots in the Austin Bar Poll.  24.26%

Only 721 of those bothered to cast a vote in the race for the 299th.

That was 433 votes for Montford, and 209 for Sage. (the other two got 79 votes combined)
A total of 225 folks declined to pick a candidate for the 299th.  

While the poll results mean something, they don't mean everything to me.

What that reads to me is that a fair number of the 946 people who voted recognize that there are two sharp candidates for this office. Many likely have loyalty to Montford because she's been here longer, but I personally refuse to give anybody credit for having the good fortune to live in Austin longer than someone else.  Montford had no control over her family's decision to move here when she was six years old.

I have been impressed with Sage's willingness to serve the community she lives in from the moment she arrived, no matter where that community is. She and her campaign team have worked hard to win my vote, and they received it in the primary. They'll have it again for the runoff.  

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by: anonintx @ Mon Mar 15, 2010 at 17:55:51 PM UTC

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Leonard Martinez's endorsement (0.00 / 0)

I like Mindy, so it is with a heavy heart that I feel compelled to say that Leonard Martinez lied to a number of editorial endorsement boards, taking credit for my work on the interlocutory appeal (which I won) in the Gobert death penalty case.  Kent Anschutz preserved the Edwards claim, and I did 100% of the briefing, signing Martinez on to the briefs as a courtesy.  I received calls from various individuals over the course of the endorsement process and was quite shocked to learn that he took credit for my work.  In fact, but for Kent Anschutz, no claim would have been preserved for me to appeal.  

Mindy was unaware of this when she accepted Leonard's endorsement, of course.

Martinez has also been the subject of a number of published remand orders out of the Third Court of Appeals for wholly failing to represent his Spanish-speaking appellate clients.  Again, Mindy, who is not an appeals lawyer, would have no way of knowing this.  I feel badly about not giving her, and the voters, a heads up before now -- but I really thought he would just go away after losing.  

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by: KarylKrug @ Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 22:28:02 PM UTC

Ouch! Remind me never to doublecross you. (0.00 / 0)

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by: Token Republican @ Mon Mar 15, 2010 at 03:20:56 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

"Really" (0.00 / 0)

The use of the word "Really" in the manner described above by anyone else than JACK BENNY is THEFT!!

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by: WUSRPH @ Mon Mar 15, 2010 at 20:49:29 PM UTC

"Push poll" or just stupid campaigning? (3.00 / 1)

I just took a call from a person claiming to be from "Southwest Voter Research." (I'm fairly certain it was not the Southwest Voter Research Institute.) I don't have caller ID and on dialing *69 was informed that the number is not available through that service.

After qualifying me as over 18 and registered to vote, the caller asked whether I preferred Mindy Montford or Karen Sage in the 299th runoff. Although I voted for Montford in the primary, I told the caller I was undecided to hear what spiel he'd give.

The caller informed me that Sage is from New York and that Montford is a "true Texan." (I kid you not.) He asked whether that would help me decide. I told him that as a native of New Jersey, such information wasn't of real interest to me. (I might have added, but didn't, that as someone with an IQ of at least 80, I find anyone labeling her- or himself a "true Texan" laughable at best.)

I have problems with candidates who do things that I consider very stupid during their campaigns. It leads me to question their judgment. (Two examples come to mind, both ironically, having a connection with Montford -- (1) Brewster McCracken's stupid attempt to keep Lee Leffingwell out of the Austin mayor's race and (2) Rosemary Lehmberg's repetition, in campaign communications, of Kelly Fero's spurious charges that Terry Keel was helping Montford in the Travis County DA race.)

As things stand now, I'm strongly considering a switch to Sage. (Even though she lived on the wrong side of the Hudson.)

Ted Melina Raab - Austin, TX

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by: tmelinaraab @ Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 00:14:46 AM UTC

If true, Montford must be desperate. (0.00 / 0)

I think Montford and her campaign are concerned of a repeat of her run-off loss two years ago to Lehmberg. She's got to know that in a low turnout run-off that Sage has some series advantages over her. Why else would she do something like this (if its true)?  

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by: TexianPolitico @ Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 13:02:16 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I got the call, though can't be certain about the source (0.00 / 0)

Though conspiracy-lovers may differ, I think it highly unlikely that the call was paid for by the Sage campaign or anyone supporting Sage. That leads me to believe that it was paid for by the Montford campaign or someone supporting her.

Obviously, I am even less certain about whether the call was part of an actual "push-poll" effort or, more simply, to test the efficacy of a potential negative message. In either case, I find the effort wrong-headed and insulting.

As I noted in my earlier comment, I voted for Montford in the primary. I also supported her in the Central Austin Democrats endorsement meeting.

Ted Melina Raab - Austin, TX

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by: tmelinaraab @ Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 19:42:54 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Another "true Texan" campaign in Austin (0.00 / 0)

During the 1990 general election for Texas House District 49 incumbent Republican Bob Richardson ran a negative TV spot against challenger Elliott Naishtat. In a bizarre play on a then-current ad for Pace picante sauce ad, the announcer noted that Elliott was a "social worker from New York City." That was followed by an outraged shout of "New York City!" The "Get a rope" tag-line from the actual Pace ad was left unsaid, but that ad had aired often enough that viewers of Richardson's spot could easily supply it themselves.

I don't watch TV much nowadays, but I still feel a definite schadenfreude whenever I catch Bob Richardson's depressed look in his law firm ads.

Ted Melina Raab - Austin, TX

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by: tmelinaraab @ Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 19:59:37 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

is that (0.00 / 0)

the same Bob Richardson of the Bob Richardson law firm commercials that litter daytime TV?

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by: Joe @ Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 22:14:34 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Yep. Same one. (0.00 / 0)

He tried for a comeback in 2002 in HD 50 but was crushed in the republican run-off by Jack Stick.  

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by: TexianPolitico @ Wed Mar 17, 2010 at 13:06:48 PM UTC

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UPDATE -- phone-bank call was not authorized (5.00 / 1)

I just had a call from Mark Littlefield who works with Mindy Montford's campaign. Littlefield told me that the call I received last night was from a Montford phone bank. However, while the beginning of the call was per the campaign's script, the part contrasting New York and Texas was not part of the script. Littlefield told me that this was not the first problem involving the phone-banker who called me, that the person has been fired, and that the Montford campaign is making an effort to contact everyone called by the errant phone-banker.

I'm relieved to hear this was not a campaign message and impressed that Montford is taking steps to deal with it.

Ted Melina Raab - Austin, TX

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by: tmelinaraab @ Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 20:36:45 PM UTC

[ Parent ]